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paris on the porch
americans in paris
So we had these friends to
thank. And since they're cool and fun, we wanted to do something to
properly celebrate their cool- and fun-ness. And in a brainstorming
process that was entirely byzantine and probably gives more insight
into my personality than anyone should be comfortable with, we came up
with the idea of converting our humble back porch into a cozy little
outdoor café, called Amitié* Bistro (Amitié=friendship in French), worthy
of the quaintest neighborhoods in the City of Lights.
As any good entertainer
knows, you must first set the mood so your audience buys into the
illusion. So we sent out the invitation:
And then we tackled the
menu (which was later posted at the bistro entrance:
Amitie
Bistro Menu
But an invitation and a
menu do not an illusion make. So we had some serious decorating to do.
Consider what we were working with:
Some might view this as
daunting, but not us. Nope, we're strictly of the "making something from
nothing" variety of folks, and there's no more satisfying challenge than
making something really cool out of what you've got on hand. So we made
use of the yards and yards of purple fabric left over from our wedding
(yes, it was 8 years ago...shut up), and moved the kitchen table
out there, and threw some old throw rugs on the floor we had rolled up in
the basement, and then scavenged the house for items that were
appropriately French-like -- our wrought iron wine stand, an Eiffel Tower
votive holder, a picture from the dining room, some wildflowers from the
market. And in next to no time, we could almost imagine ourselves there.
(We also had a sign to
direct our guests around to the back of house, with homemade glass
candleholders to light the way, but we unfortunately forgot to take
pictures.) In our not-so-humble opinion, it turned out great, but it
really, truly came alive, when night-time came and it was lit solely by
the strings of lights and that, along with
the music we bought just for
the occasion and the company of the good friends we were celebrating,
completed the transformation.
You can email us any time
to reserve a table at the Bistro. ;)
10.01.04 |
